


Homecoming

by Gears112, phantomthief_fee



Series: Reunion AU [13]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Bendy is a child, Everyone Needs A Hug, Everyone is mostly saved, Everyone's working together to fix what Drew did, Fluff and Angst, Gen, It still a work in progress, Multi, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-06
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-03-27 21:37:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 13,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13889616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gears112/pseuds/Gears112, https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomthief_fee/pseuds/phantomthief_fee
Summary: After the events of the studio, everyone begins the process of fixing and overcoming the effects of what Joey Drew did to everyone.





	1. Chapter 1

...

“Mother of-” Joshua bit back a curse as he sat in the guest room bed as Dr. Robin tested Joshua’s arm. The doctor gave him a deadpan look as Joshua tried to keep a straight face.

“Mr. Foster, what was the one thing I told you to do?”

“Rest my shoulder.” Joshua gritted out through his teeth. “Things came up.” Dr. Robin sighed.

“Look, I understand that things have been indeed different, but until proven otherwise, you still need to not strain your shoulder. You almost lost it Joshua and I will be damned if it doesn’t heal correctly.” Joshua sighed and used his free hand to wipe his face.

“I know, I know…” Dr. Robin’s face softened.

“You’re not Superman, Joshua, don’t push yourself to be. You’re fine the way you are,” Joshua didn’t answer as Murray opened the door.

“Is everything alright?” Dr. Robin nodded.

“Joshy will be fine, but I’m ordering him to keep it in a sling for a week.” Joshua’s face was amusing as Dr. Robin stood. “And that’s the least amount of time I’m willing to work with, Mr. Foster; I’d rather not get the brunt of it from your mother and friends.”

“Alright…” Joshua mumbled in defeat as he stood as well. “Let’s get going; the food is smelling good…”

“Sling first, then food.” Murray couldn’t help but chuckle at the man’s face as Dr. Robin was smirking. “We’ll meet you down there Murray.”

“Alright then,”

.

* * *

 

.

“She’s gotten big…” Wally’s nephew, Danny, whispered softly. Chris smiled softly as he nodded as Ruby stepped back, taking a look at her work, while everyone mingled outside of Henry’s house for the ‘party’ he made.

“Tada!” She said, hands on her hip. Allison tried to keep a straight face as she looked at her reflection in Susie’s hand-mirror, hair sticking out in many different places and different hairpieces clashing, among other things that happen when you allow a child to do your hair.

“Oh wow,” Allison said softly, taking in all the angles. “It’s very colorful.” Ruby giggled happily as Susie chuckled.

“Now it’s Susie’s turn!!” Edgar made a chattering noise and Ruby spotted him. “Hi Mr. Edgar!! I’m making Aunt Susie and Aunt Allison all pretty! Do you want help me?” Edgar warily scooted over to the toddler as Barley and Charley warily watched from behind Cordelia as Ruby handed the spider a hair clip and started to explain how to do Susie’s hair, earning a chuckle from the adults. The Butcher Gang hadn’t seemed to remember who they were just yet, but there were sometimes their old selves slipped through, like right now as Edgar hunched over and carefully braiding Susie’s hair, tongue out and one of his feet keeping time as Ruby happily chatted away. Cordelia smiled softly as she looked over at Johnny, who was trying to keep his food away from some of the searchers, those that had gotten away from the hive mind to follow the group as they left the studio, not falling apart in the slightest.

“Looks like Johnny’s having issues,” Cordelia turned to see Murray coming out from the house; the man was much more confident than before, carrying himself much higher than when he first back from the enchantment. She chuckled, especially as Johnny was dealing with one Searcher, another grabbed his plate and slunk away.

“It looks like it…” She said.

“I will fix them…” He said and Cordelia nodded.

“We all will…” She said softly. “All of us, together, will help them go back to normal.” She nodded confidently and Murray nodded in agreement.

“Yeah….”

“Mr. Murray! Misses Cordelia!” The two turned to see Bendy holding hot dogs in each hand. “Have you tried these things!? They’re great! Papa Henry says they’re called Hot Dogs and they’re great!!” Bendy shoved both hot dogs in his mouth, beaming like an excited child. Both Cordelia and Murray laughed as Bendy finished eating and grabbed both their hands. “Come on! I’m sure there’s more for you guys too!!” Murray laughed.

“Sounds like a plan Bendy,”


	2. Chapter 2

Having all the new faces around took some adjustment. Edgar stayed close to Wally most of the time, happily following him around everywhere he went in the house. To his credit, Wally took all of this in stride, often carrying Edgar so the little spider didn’t ever lose sight of him. Barley and Charley kept to themselves for the most part. Charley spent a lot of his time looking over the finance books from the tattoo parlor and making disapproving noises. He gave a dirty look to anyone who tried to take the books away from him until he’d finished correcting them. 

“We needed an accountant anyway.” Chris shrugged when someone asked him about it. Barley liked tinkering with things. He had a tendency to take apart every little thing he found. At night, he and Wally could often be found in the living room messing with old electronics. And then there was Bendy. Unlike the other three toons he had more energy than he knew what to do with. He wanted to go everywhere and touch everything. Everyone had their hands full taking care of the little demon.

“Is this what being a parent’s like?” Cordelia sighed as she came back downstairs. She and Joshua had just managed to get Bendy to go down for a nap, and both of them were exhausted. He’d been all over the house all day, never giving the couple a moment’s rest. 

“Pretty much.” Norman couldn’t help but smile a little at their reactions. “But you’re both handling it well. You’ll make good parents someday.”

“Oh, uh, thanks.” Cordelia went bright red, trying to hide her face. 

“It’s hard to believe he used to be Joey.” Joshua flopped into the couch. On the floor, Barley and Wally were tinkering again, with Edgar latched onto Wally’s back. 

“Eh, it’s not that hard to believe,” Wally said. “Henry put a lot of Joey’s behaviors into Bendy. I used to help animate and it was easy to draw sequences if I pictured Joey doing it.”

“Mr Drew was always a real high energy guy.” Norman added, leaning on the back of the couch. “He stayed professional most of the time, or as professional as he could, but that man loved mischief and making trouble for other people. Wouldn’t be surprised if this is what he was like as a kid.”

“I guess Joey wasn’t always a monster.” Cordelia’s shoulders slumped. 

“No one starts out evil.” Joshua nodded. A solemn silence descended upon the room. They may have been able to save nearly everyone, but that didn’t change the fact that there was one person who wasn’t coming back, and that none of them would ever be the same as they were before. Edgar clung tighter to Wally and Cordelia took Joshua’s hand. Norman reflexively reached up to touch his cheek, to remind himself that he was okay now. 

“It’s over, isn’t it?” Cordelia whispered. “We don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

“It sure seems like it.” Norman said. There was still the Butcher Gang to set right, of course, as well as a the Searchers, but that would happen in due time. It really did seem like it was over. That they were all going to be alright now. But at the top of the stairs, Bendy had heard everything. He’d gotten up to get a drink of water and demand another bedtime story, but had stopped upon hearing what was being said. He couldn’t be Joey Drew. Joey was a Bad Man. Everyone hated Joey. They...They didn’t hate  _ him  _ did they? He slunk back to his room and laid down on the bed, hugging his knees. He didn’t want to be Joey. He started to sniffle, his lip quivering. He didn’t want to be hated. Joey was the monster in the story of the people who’d taken him in. Henry always got so sad when Joey was brought up, and Cordelia’s hands shook a bit too much when she remembered him. Joshua was positively terrifying when people talked about what Joey did. He didn’t yell or anything, he just got very quiet, a dangerous gleam entering his eyes. 

“You okay?” Bendy looked up to see Henry standing in the doorway. 

“I’m fine.” Bendy tried to force himself to smile, but he was too close to crying. Henry immediately rushed to his side, gathering the little demon up in his arms. 

“What happened?” He asked. 

“D-Do you hate me?” Bendy asked, his lip quivering. 

“Why are you asking this?” Henry stroked Bendy’s head. “Did someone say something to you?” He had a feeling he knew what this was about, but he didn’t want to say anything in case Bendy hadn’t figured the secret out yet. 

“I heard them talking.” Bendy sniffled. “I know I used to be Joey.” Henry sighed, drawing Bendy closer to his chest. 

“Look,” he said. “You may have been created using the body of Joey Drew, but you’re not Joey.” 

“Yes, I am!” Bendy tried to pull away, beginning to sob. “Wally said you based me on Joey! He said you animated me based on him!”

“Bendy-”

“And if I’m Joey, then everyone hates me! I don’t wanna be hated, Papa Henry!” 

“Bendy.” Henry’s voice was firm as he drew back, his hands on the little demon’s shoulders. “Listen to me. You are not Joey Drew. Joey Drew didn’t care about other people’s feelings. All he wanted was to make his own dreams come true. The fact that you’re worrying about everyone else is proof that you’re not him.”

“But-” 

“No buts.” Henry said. Bendy nodded, pressing his head against Henry’s chest. He cried for a few minutes, just taking comfort in having Henry there. Henry would never embrace Joey like this, not after all the other man had done. Eventually, Bendy looked up at Henry and asked a question. 

“Why did Joey do all this?” 

“I...I don’t know.” Henry admitted, shaking his head. “I’ve been trying to figure that out for a long time now, and I just can’t come up with an answer.” Bendy nodded, snuggling up to Henry once more. A voice in the back of Bendy’s head piped up with the answer the demon sought. Joey wanted to be remembered, and he wanted his creations to truly live. He wanted his dreams to come true. The voice promised Bendy’s dreams would come true to. Bendy shook his head slightly, trying to get the voice to be silent. He was not going to be like Joey Drew. No one liked Joey. 

“Do you want some pie?” Henry asked with a small smile. “I brought some home for everyone.”

“Yes please.” Bendy nodded. Henry picked him up and took the little demon downstairs. Everyone was crowded around the table, fighting each other to get a slice of pie. Cordelia turned around upon hearing Henry and Bendy enter and smiled warmly. 

“Hello, sweetie.” She said. “I’m sorry, were we too loud?” Bendy shook his head. 

“Hey, save some pie for Bendy!” Henry put Bendy down and walked over to wrangle some pie out of the hands of the others. 

“Alright alright.” Sammy backed off the slice he’d been trying to get from Wally, who handed it to Henry. Bendy smiled to himself. This was good. This was where he belonged. This mess of people, everyone loud and warm, this was where he was meant to be. He wasn’t Joey Drew anymore, no matter what the voices in his mind told him. He was Bendy the Dancing Demon, and he was home. 


	3. Chapter 3

...

“Ah, Mr. Foster, pleasant surprise.” Bendy poked his head from one of the rooms in the parlour, Charley poking his head, unimpressed as he was taken from the finances book again, while Barely just looked annoyed as they saw the older man standing in front of the desk, where Joshua sighed.

“You didn’t think I’d return to this rathole after coming back from the Army.” Joshua said in a very dry tone. “You’ve mention this before. And no, Christopher isn’t here and I am not going to tell him that you want to talk to him.” The man sighed in mild irritation, as if he wanted a better response.

“I wasn’t going to talk to you about that.” The man said, adjusting his tie. “I was merely going to talk to you about whether you were aware of the lot where the abandoned studio laid.” Joshua bit back a groan. “I will take that as a yes, granted who helped your mother. Well, I wanted you, and my nephew of course, to know that that unsafe building will be destroyed at the end of the month. The city council has agree that it is finally time for that unsightly horror show to be destroyed.” The toons couldn’t see the reaction Joshua had but they knew by the tone of Joshua’s voice it wasn’t good.

“So what? You just wanted to brag about it? Why the hell should I give a damn, hmm?”

“Well, I figured that you could mention it to that man-”

“Henry.” Bendy watched as the man rolled his eyes in a patronizing way.

“You are awfully fond of that man, despite the fact he is hardly father like mater-”

“HEY!” Bendy exclaimed, hopping out of his spot. “Papa Henry is the nicest person ever!! You’ve got no right to say he’s anything but a good guy!! And he’s a great Papa!” He chewed the stunned business looking man out, hands on his toony hips. “Now say you’re sorry to Joshy! And get out!” There was a few moments of silence before the man muttered something about ‘too old for this shit’ before storming out of the door. Bendy pouted and crossed his arms. “He didn’t say he’s sorry…” Joshua chuckled softly.

“It’s fine, Bendy,” He said tiredly. “Mr. Cohen’s like that. Him and Mr. Pendle have actually mellowed enough over the years…Honest, and I’m pretty much use to it…”

“But they’re not very nice!” The dancing demon argued.

“It happens,” Joshua said, rubbing the back of his head. “And they only do this when my mom or Mrs. Lawrence aren’t in ear shot; they don’t look it, but they pack punches to rival most professional boxers.” Bendy huffed, not enjoying it as Joshua turned to look at the others, paling as he saw Charley trembling and looking droopy. “I-I better call Henry…” Bendy raised an eyebrow before turning to his friend.

“Whadda mean-Ch-Charley!!”

.

* * *

 

.

Ruby kicked her feet excitedly, Uncle Roy was taking her to the parlour, saying that Uncle Henry had someone she needed to meet. Of course her daddy had to see him too, but he was busy helping Nana at the restaurant so she got to meet the person first, which was exciting in its own right; So many people were showing up for her to meet and it exciting, especially since she got to see Bendy, Mr. Edgar and even people like Father Lawrence and Uncle Danny again! Roy pulled up to the parlour and helped her out of the car after parking. She happily swung her arms, leading the way, much to her uncle’s amusement as they entered.

“Uncle Joshy~” She sang loudly before stopping seeing a disheveled looking man leaning against the table, faint squiggly lines glowing along his body as he breathed heavily. Uncle Henry was there, helping him stay upright as Joshua was sitting at the desk, looking tired as he was on the phone, Edgar sitting top of the desk, patting the man’s shoulder carefully. “Huh? Uncle Henry?” Henry saw her and smiled softly.

“Grant, she’s here…” The man turned slightly, his face softening as he saw Ruby. “Ruby, this is your dad’s cousin...Grant Cohen. Grant...this is Chris’s baby girl...”

“He was Charley!” Bendy piped up, poking his head around the corner of the table. Ruby nodded, pretending that made sense to her, as the adults seemed to get it and she didn’t want to be left out, but honestly she had no clue what’s going on. The man, Grant, slowly got down to his knees, wincing slightly as he put pressure on his limbs, making the girl wonder if he had to deal with the after war stuff too like her father and a good amount of her uncles did.

“You...you’re Christopher’s daughter?” He asked quietly as if he wasn’t sure he wasn’t seeing things. Ruby stole a glance at Roy, who smiled and nodded slightly and she turned back to the man, stepping forward, holding out her hand, smiling brightly.

“Yeap! My name is Ruby! It’s really nice to meet you~!”


	4. Chapter 4

It felt good to be human again. Grant would admit to that much. Having two proper legs and arms wasn’t half bad either. He’d spent the past few days catching up on everything he’d missed, which had especially involved getting to know his cousin’s new family. He was quite taken with his new niece. Grant had never been terribly fond of children, or people in general, but there was something about Ruby that just warmed his heart. Ruby seemed to enjoy his presence as well, which made him rather happy. It felt good to be loved. He’d spent so many nights during his youth wondering what he’d done wrong to make his father so angry with him. But things were different now. He was an adult. He didn’t have to be under his father’s thumb anymore. Unfortunately, his father wasn’t quite done with him. Grant was at the tattoo parlour again, looking over the finances when his father returned once more. Mr Cohen’s eyes lit up upon seeing his son on the couch. 

“Grant!” His face split in a smile and he walked over. “I thought I was never going to see you again!” Grant froze upon hearing his father’s voice and looked up. 

“Father.” He tried to smile but ended up grimacing. “What a surprise.” 

“Where have you been?” Mr Cohen asked, dragging his son up and clapping him on the shoulder. 

“It’s...difficult to explain.” Grant said. “But I’m back now.”

“This is wonderful!” Mr Cohen grinned. “I thought I was never going to see you again!”

“I thought I was never going to see anyone again.” Grant admitted. 

“What are you doing at the parlor?” Mr Cohen asked. “I thought you would have immediately come to me.”

“I only just got back.” Grant was desperately trying to hide how deeply uncomfortable he was with this situation. 

“Well, now that you’re back, let’s get you out of here.” Mr Cohen tried to pull his son away. “I kept your old apartment for you, and I have a position waiting at my accounting firm. I knew you’d come back one day.” Grant took a deep, shaking breath. This was it. Now or never. He maneuvered his wrist out of his father’s grasp. 

“Father, we need to have a talk.” He said. Mr Cohen frowned, drawing closer to his son. 

“Grant, are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Father. Better than I’ve been in a long time.” Grant replied. “Which is why I want to have this conversation with you. First of all, I’m not going to join your accounting firm.”

“Why not?” Mr Cohen frowned. “It’s the job of a lifetime! You’ll have assured financial security!”

“I’m through being your little puppet.” Grant tried to sound calm, despite the pounding of his heart. “I’m an adult. I can make my own damn choices.”

“Grant, I know what’s best for you.” Mr Cohen slipped into concerned parent mode. “I told you not to work at Joey Drew Studios and I was right. That place was terrible for you!” 

“They needed me, just like Chris needs me now.” Grant said. “This is not up for discussion, Father. I’m staying here with Chris and the others. You aren’t going to stop me.” Mr Cohen stared at his son for a few moments before glowering and shaking his head. 

“Very well. I’ll leave you for now.” He said. “But mark my words, I  _ will _ be back. I know what’s best for you, son, and I’m not going to let you throw your life away.” Then he turned and stormed out. A minute or two later, Chris appeared from the back. 

“Uh, sorry about that.” He laughed nervously. “I really didn’t want to deal with him.” 

“I don’t blame you.” Grant let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in. “ _ I _ didn’t want to deal with him.”

“What are we going to do about this?” Chris asked. 

“I don’t know.” Grant admitted. “But I promise, we’re going to do this together.”

 

With Grant human once more, Thomas soon followed. So far, Shawn/Edgar was the only one who hadn’t yet remembered his true self. Wally was worried, naturally, but everyone assured him that he’d eventually get Shawn back. 

“The process is different for everyone.” Thomas told him. “He’ll be back. You just need to be patient.” Wally nodded, glancing back at Edgar. The little spider toon was playing patty cake with Ruby on the rug while Roy cooked in the kitchen. Roy had volunteered to watch Ruby for the day. It was becoming a bit of a habit. 

“Alright.” He conceded. Wally was glad to have most everyone back, don’t get him wrong, but he still missed Shawn every day. David too. God how he missed David. Danny was okay, and he took comfort in that, but David wasn’t coming back. 

“It’ll be alright.” Thomas said. 

“When did you become such an optimist?” Wally asked, managing a small grin. “You always used to be such a downer.”

“Things change.” Thomas shrugged. “Getting a second chance really gives you a new outlook on life.”

“Yeah, I guess it does.” Wally looked to Edgar and Ruby again. Things were going to be okay. He was sure of it. Suddenly Bendy sprinted over, slamming into Wally’s legs. 

“What’s wrong, kiddo?” Wally asked. Bendy looked positively terrified. 

“There’s a woman pulling up and Joey knows her.” The little demon murmured. Wally’s eyes widened at this. Thomas went for the door. He opened it just as the woman was reaching for the doorbell. She had an almost bored expression on her face and was dressed in a sharp pantsuit. She raised an eyebrow, but remained disinterested. 

“I guess you saw me walk up.” She said. 

“Yeah. What can we do for you?” Thomas asked, reverting to his naturally curt and clipped way of speaking. 

“You get right to the point, don’t you?” The woman pulled out a business card and handed it to him. “My name is Esther Drew. I heard my brother caused all of you some trouble and I wanted to see if I could rectify the situation somehow.” 

“Wait...You’re Joey’s sister?!” Wally sputtered. “He never told us he had a sister!”

“He never was too keen on family.” Esther said dryly. “I can’t say I’m surprised he never mentioned us.”

“Uh, would you like to come in?” Wally asked, smiling nervously. “Henry’s not home yet.”

“That would be nice.” Esther nodded and entered the house. She looked around, scanning the house until her eyes landed on the toons on the living room floor. She didn’t seemed surprised by their presence. Bendy shrunk back upon seeing Esther. 

“What’s wrong?” Ruby asked, frowning at Bendy’s reaction. “Is she a mean lady?”

“N-No. She’s not a mean lady.” Bendy shook his head. “She’s a good woman.”

“Then why’re you so scared?” 

“I...Can’t explain it.”

“You wanna play upstairs?” Ruby got up, collecting her dolls. Bendy nodded, and the three of them ran upstairs. 

“You thirsty?” Thomas asked. 

“Water would be nice, thank you.” Esther arranged herself on the couch, her purse in her lap. Thomas nodded and headed for the kitchen. Wally stayed where he was, just watching Esther.

“So, did my brother create those creatures?” Esther asked, glancing at the stairs. 

“Edgar and Bendy, yes. Ruby, no.” Thomas returned with the glass of water, handing it to her. “There’s a lot of black magic involved.”

“It’s pretty complicated.” Wally nodded. Esther’s face fell a bit. She took a sip of the water, then put it on the table in front of her. 

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” She sighed. “Anyway, I suppose reparations are in order. How much do you all want?” She pulled out a chequebook. 

“Whoa whoa whoa.” Wally put his hands up. “You don’t need to try and pay us off! We were never gonna press charges against you or anything.”

“But you all deserve something.” Esther insisted. “For what my brother did to you. I don’t know specifics, but from what I’ve heard it sounds pretty bad.”

“Joey made some mistakes, but he’s paying for them.” Thomas stepped forward. 

“It’s fine, really.” Wally assured her. “We’re gettin’ by.” Esther hesitated, but put away her chequebook nonetheless. 

“What was your family like?” Thomas asked. The employees of Joey Drew Studios had always wondered what Joey’s family was like. He was such a strange person. They’d always been curious as to how he’d become that way.

“I don’t know what you want me to tell you.” Esther shrugged slightly. “We were normal. Ma and Pa were a little absentee sometimes, but they tried. We all tried. All of us but Joey.” Her grip on her purse tightened. “He ran away from home as soon as he turned 18. I had to fly home from a conference to our parents in tears.”

“I’m sure he had his reasons.” Thomas sat down beside her. “You know how kids can be.” It was then Wally noticed the ring on Esther’s finger. His eyes widened. Joey had a family. He had people who missed him. Oh shit. 

“It was all over some stupid fight he had with Pa.” Esther twisted her ring. 

“About animation I’m assuming.” Thomas said. 

Esther nodded, letting out a tired laugh. “Pa wanted Joey to become a doctor or a lawyer, like me. Joey wanted to be an animator. You can guess who won that battle.”

“Do you miss him?” Wally tentatively asked. “I know he’s a pain, god do we all know that, but he’s still your family, right?” Esther was quiet for a long time before answering. 

“I used to hate him, you know.” She said. “He was already the baby of the family. Ma and Pa spoiled him rotten. Nobody ever told Joey Drew no. And then he up and leaves the first time he and Pa get into an argument! It wasn’t fair! He abandoned all of us!” She knew she was being selfish and cruel, but it had been so difficult since Joey had left. She’d kept tabs on him, of course, because she was his big sister and she would always have his back. 

“Who abandoned who?” They all turned to see Henry in the doorway, Cordelia and Joshua standing behind him. All of them had groceries in their arms. 

“Um, Henry, this is Esther.” Wally gestured to Esther. “She’s, uh, she’s Joey’s sister.” He winced as Henry dropped the bags. 

“I...I need to have a talk with someone.” Henry said before disappearing up the stairs. 


	5. Chapter 5

Henry quickly made it up to the guest-Bendy’s-room, seeing Ruby and Edgar trying to cheer up the little devil to very little success. He sighed softly as he knocked on the door.

“Bendy…?” Henry said. “Can we talk?” The demon sighed, nodding and Ruby looked at Henry.

“Everything’s going to be ok, right Uncle Henry?” Henry smiled softly.

“We’re going to try.” Ruby nodded and gave Bendy a tight hug before she and Edgar went back downstairs. They heard the door close and Ruby gave a smile to Edgar.

“I’m sure it’ll be ok…” They made it downstairs and Joshua waved, spotting the two.

“Oh, hey there Ruby…” Joshua said smiling and Ruby frowned.

“Uncle Joshy!!” She exclaimed. “Where’s your sling? You’ve gotta wear that!” Wally snorted as Joshua went red.

“I...forgot it.” He said and Cordelia gave him a look. “And besides, Dr. Robin only said a week was needed.” Ruby huffed and placed her hands on her hips.

“But you need to rest it!!”

“I am, I am.” Joshua said as Edgar quickly came over to Wally, sitting on top of the man’s lap in the chair. “Ruby, this is Esther Drew, Mrs. Drew, this is Ruby Charles.” Esther nodded as Ruby looked at the woman.

“You own the big annie-may-station studio?” She asked innocently and Thomas chuckled.

“No, sweetpea, she’s Joey’s sister. Joey owned the studio.” Ruby nodded slowly.

“What do you know about Joey Drew, if you don’t mind me asking Ruby?” Esther asked and Ruby’s face scrunched up. The other former employees were curious as well, though Dee and Joshua looked slightly hesitant.

“Um...well...nobody’s supposed to go near the studio,” She started. “Cause if you go in, you don’t come out ever again, but I guess that isn’t right anymore…” She looked at everyone else, giving her point. “Uncle Henry and Uncle Joshy have a lot of the shorts the studio made! And those are funny, especially when Bendy tries to get Boris to help him,” She giggled slightly. “And I know that when I was really really little, Uncle Danny, Uncle David,” She listed off the other seven men, only slightly butchering their names. “Went to the studio and didn’t come back for a long time…” She looked at Joshua, who nodded. “Uncle David got out before everybody, but he wasn’t good...Daddy said once that he went through a war zone...H-He was talking to Nana about it…but I heard it too and then Uncle David passed away......” She looked like she wanted to say something else, but looked uncomfortable with it.

“Ruby?” Cordelia asked softly. “Is there something else you know about Joey Drew?” Ruby nodded shyly. “You can tell us, sweetie...it’ll be ok…”

“We won’t get mad kiddo,” Wally said. “Whoever does will have to deal with me and Edgar here!” He lifted his arm to show his ‘muscle’, with Edgar clumsily trying to copy him, making the girl giggle softly.

“Well, um,” Ruby took a deep breath, looking at the floor. “A while ago, when I was at you and Uncle Roy’s house,” She looked at Cordelia. “You came in and fell asleep on the couch...and then you had a bad dream, and you were mad at Joey Drew...and you kept asking him to stop what he was doing...and then you started sniffling, and I didn’t know what to do, so I tried humming Nana’s song and rubbing your hand, but I didn’t want to wake you up...I’m really sorry Misses Bell!” Ruby rubbed her eyes, almost in tears. “I didn’t know what to do!” Cordelia’s face softened and she hugged the girl.

“Ruby, it’s alright…” Cordelia said softly, rubbing the toddler’s back. “You did the best thing possible at the time…I wondered why that nightmare ended so abruptly and something sweet replaced it…” Ruby leaned back and looked at Cordelia.

“R-Really?” Cordelia nodded, wiping away the toddler’s eyes. “Thank you Misses Bell…” Ruby laid against Cordelia, rubbing her eyes and sniffling. Esther was quiet, her knuckles white as she clenched her bag. Edgar hopped off of Wally and joined the hug. After a few moments Ruby stepped back and looked at Esther’s ring. “That’s a really pretty ring ma’am.” Esther smiled.

“Thank you Ruby...it’s...my wedding ring.” Ruby nodded, though confusion was apparent in her face. “Do you know what weddings are?”

“Well, I know you have to have a man with a book and there’s lots of flowers?” Everyone chuckled. “Oh! And Aunt Susie and Aunt Allison are making really pretty things for Misses Bell and Uncle Joshy’s wedding! And they said I’m going to be a flower girl, but I’m not a flower…” Cordelia and Joshua went matching shades of red, much to the humor of everyone else.

“A flower girl goes before the bride and tosses flowers in the alsie, along with the ring bearer, who is the person who carries the rings for the couple.” Ruby nodded slowly.

“Oooh, I guess that makes sense…”

“I’m sure Sammy’s pleased…” Wally snorted before sighing. “But don’tcha worry about the wedding, Ruby, it’s a fun thing.” Ruby nodded.

“Oh ok….” Wally sighed softly chuckling.

“They can get a bit crazy though...I remember at my sister’s wedding, one of guests fell into the cake!” Ruby gasped in awe. “And oh man, when my sister threw the bouquet, I’d never thought I’d see women fight so brutally over some flowers…” Esther chuckled nervously.

“Sounds like a very rowdy wedding…” She said as Ruby looked at Esther.

“Did you have someone jump into your cake?” Esther chuckled, shaking her head.

“No, no, it was very quiet…” She said softly.

“I’m guessing a certain someone didn’t show…” Wally said and Esther chuckled bitterly.

“No, Jojo wasn’t there…” She sighed and shook her head. “But we are getting off topic. You deserve reparations for what my brother did.”

“Mrs. Drew-”

“It’s only fair-”

“No it ain’t!” Wally snapped, standing up. “You didn’t trap us in that fucking studio and torture us for 30 damn years!! You didn’t try drowning us in ink for whatever reason!!” Edgar whimpered and held onto Ruby as Cordelia held the two protectively. “You didn’t trap me and made me watch as you changed the man I loved into a fucking cartoon! You didn’t fucking gloat and mock my affections for him before forcing me into the body of damn-”

“Franks.” Wally was in tears as Joshua took his shoulders. Wally looked at him before realizing that Ruby was trembling in Cordelia’s arms as was Edgar and he slumped. “Come on, let’s go help Roy in the kitchen, kay?” Wally nodded and let Joshua walk him out of the living room, allowing what he screamed to set in.


	6. Chapter 6

Henry sat across from Bendy on the guest bed. The little demon was curled in on himself, sniffling and shaking. Joey’s voice was so loud in his mind. The former studio head wasn’t screaming, instead, he was crying. Henry just sat there, holding Bendy’s hand. Eventually, he asked,

“Why didn’t Joey tell me he had a sister?”

“He tried to distance himself from his family.” Bendy sniffled. “He didn’t want to be associated with them at all.”

“He should have known he couldn’t run forever.” 

Bendy abruptly stopped shuddering and looked up at Henry. His eyes were different. He stared at Henry with Joey’s gaze. 

“Hello, Joey.” Henry sighed. 

“They didn’t understand,” Joey spoke with Bendy’s voice. “I just wanted to draw. I wanted to bring my creations to life. They wanted me to be a  _ lawyer _ !” 

“Alright, yes, I can understand that.” Henry nodded. “I shouldn’t have said that.” 

“God, I can’t believe Esther’s here.” Joey groaned, running a hand over his head. “How did she find me?” 

“She didn’t come here looking for you,” Henry said. “She came here looking to make amends for your actions.” 

“I don’t need her picking up after me! I’m not a child!” 

“You’re as good as one, right now.”  Henry pointed out coolly. Joey groaned again, holding his head and making a high pitched whining sound. 

“Look, I know I messed up.” He said. 

“You more than messed up, Joey.” Henry sat back, staring intently at Joey. “You’re lucky Murray turned you into Bendy or you’d be rotting in jail.” 

“I never thought it would get this bad,” Joey muttered. 

“That’s your problem, Joey, you _ don’t  _ think.” Henry reached over and flicked Joey’s forehead. “And this time, you don’t get to talk your way out. You’ll stay as Bendy for as long as it takes for you to repent.”

“And if I don’t repent?” Joey regarded Henry curiously. 

“Then you’re stuck in Bendy’s mind forever.” 

“Very well.” Joey sighed and began wringing his hands. “I do feel somewhat guilty if that makes you feel better.”

“It doesn’t need to make me feel better,” Henry said. “I’m not the one you need to convince.” He glanced back at the door. He’d heard the yelling. It was more than likely that Wally had revealed to Esther just what Joey had done. 

 

Esther felt sick. She’d known her brother had done some bad things, but she hadn’t realized just how bad his crimes had been. Her chest felt tight as she tried to get herself together. She had to stay calm. She had to get through this. 

“Are you alright?” Cordelia asked, putting a hand on Esther’s shoulder. She’d put down Edgar and Ruby and told them to go cook with Roy. Roy had, of course, come out of the kitchen at the yelling, only to be sent back in. 

“I need to know. What did he do to all of you?” Esther grabbed Cordelia’s hand, looking up at her with wide eyes. Cordelia tensed up a bit. 

“I...We don’t like talking about it.” She looked away. 

“He turned a bunch of us into toons.” Thomas had stayed leaning against the wall for most of the conversation, but now he spoke. “Rather forcefully at that.”

“He tried to sacrifice me,” Cordelia whispered. “I saw him do...What he did to Norman and he was going to sacrifice me to keep me quiet.”

“I don’t know how he got this bad.” Esther murmured, reaching up to fidget with a locket she’d previously had under her shirt. “He was never a bad person before. I...I’m so sorry.” 

“He used our flaws against us, twisted our words so that they benefited him. Your brother became a monster.” Thomas said all this in a monotonous, dispassionate voice. He took no pleasure in revealing Joey’s deeds to Esther. But she needed to know.

“If we’d just supported him, maybe he wouldn’t have left.” Esther closed her eyes, trying to keep herself from crying.

“This isn’t anyone’s fault but Joey’s,” Cordelia said sharply. “Believe me, beating yourself up over this isn’t going to do anything. I blamed myself for years and it only made me miserable.” She smiled reassuringly. Esther nodded and squeezed Cordelia’s hand. 

“Th-Thank  you.” She managed a small smile. 

“Everyone okay?” Henry asked, coming down the stairs. Bendy wasn’t with him. 

“I don’t think there’s a good answer to that question,” Cordelia said. “Where’s Bendy?” 

“He’s upstairs,” Henry explained. “And he wants to talk to you, Esther.” 

“Me?” Esther frowned. “Why?” 

“He used to be Joey.” 

Esther’s eyes widened for a moment, then her face settled in an emotionless mask. She got up and went upstairs, her whole body shaking. Everyone in the living room looked up the stairs. They had a bad feeling about where this was going to go. 

 

Esther opened the door, her hands shaking. Sitting on the bed was Bendy the Dancing Demon, but his eyes were wrong. They were the same colour as Joey’s eyes. And when he looked up at her and smiled, it was Joey’s smile. The same guilty smile he’d always flash her when she caught him doing something wrong. 

“Esther.” He said, laughing nervously. “It’s, uh, it’s been awhile, huh?” Esther walked into the room and slammed the door behind her. Then she stalked over, jamming her finger into Joey’s chest. 

“You have a lot of explaining to do, Joseph Bartholomew Drew.” She hissed. Joey winced at the use of his full name.

“I know I messed up-”

“This is so much bigger than messing up.” Esther snapped. “Why? Why would you do this, Joey?! I thought you just wanted to make cartoons!”

“I did. ” Joey tried smiling again, but Esther’s fury would not be swayed by his usual charms.

“Then why? Why would you torture these poor people, Joey?” She asked, grabbing him by the shoulders. “I thought you hated bullies! I thought you were better than them!” Joey drew into himself. He had thought about his childhood bullies quite a bit. He’d been determined to prove that he was better than they would ever be. He couldn’t be like them! He couldn’t!

“I’m not like them!” He insisted, feeling his face grow hot. 

“You’re right. You’re worse than them.”

“I’m not!” 

“Your former employees would beg to differ,” Esther said. “I heard what Mr Franks had to say on the subject.” A wave of shame washed over Joey. He felt like a little kid again, being chewed out for breaking one of Esther’s toys. 

“I’m sorry.” He mumbled. 

“You better be.” Esther let go of him. “I have to go now, I need to pick up my kids from soccer practice, but I  _ will _ be back.” Then she turned and left. Joey whimpered and disappeared back into Bendy. 

“I have to go,” Esther said, going down the stairs. “I have to pick up my kids from soccer practice. But mark my words, I will be back. I’m not done with Jojo.” 

“It was nice meeting you.” Henry shook her head. 

“It was nice meeting you too.” Esther smiled tiredly. Thomas showed her out, closing the door behind her. They all breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Henry?” Wally walked back into the living room, holding Edgar in his arms. “Edgar’s, uh, he’s doing a weird thing.” The little spider was twitching and shaking, his ink beginning to bubble and shift. 

“Looks like you’ll have Shawn back.” Henry scooped Edgar up and whisked him upstairs. Wally couldn’t help but smile at that. He’d so missed Shawn.


	7. Chapter 7

...

Joshua had led Wally outside as Roy headed into the living room. Once outside, Joshua shut the door behind them and walked to the steps, sitting down on them. Wally slumped next to him and buried his face in his hands. 

“Oh God…” Wally muttered as the realization of what he did settled heavily on his shoulders. “What have I done?” 

“Besides terrify a toddler and make things hella awkward for Bendy later? I’d say cursing in front of Ruby; Chris is a bit protective of making sure she doesn’t repeat anything or get in trouble.” Wally shot a look at Joshua angrily. 

“How the fuck are you so goddamn calm!?” Wally snapped before wincing, realizing that he lost his temper again, seeing Joshua flinch slightly. “L-Look, I’m sor-” 

“It’s fine.” Joshua said softly. “It’s probably a bit weird to see anybody so calm like this...” He laughed bitterly. “Personally, if I don’t make an effort to stay positive or calm like I do, I’m back in Korea fighting to keep my colleagues alive, fighting to keep Chris or the other members from getting excluded or pushed over the edge, or…” He took a deep shaky breath, Wally noticing that Joshua was holding his arm tightly and trembling slightly.. “Or trying not to panic as my arm’s impaled with shrapnel, so close to slicing off, yet not enough to actually do that…” He let out a shaky chuckle. “I mean I know, it’s not what you guys went through…” Wally smiled slightly, knowing what Joshua was intending; they all had their own hells to go through and everyone needed each other. He patted Joshua’s back. 

“I get ya…” He said softly. “I’m surprised you’re even allowed out of the house...I know Dee’s got Roy to watch as well, but Sammy’s sister and your mother letting you out of their site? I’m impressed.” Joshua snorted and laughed as the two slowly got up and headed back inside. 

“Well, it takes convincing…” He saw Ruby furiously scribbling on sketch paper, with Edgar over her shoulder, chittering quickly. “Ruby? What are you-” Edgar chirped angrily at Joshua before going back to focusing on Ruby, chirping and pointing at the paper. The two men looked at Roy, who shrugged. 

“As soon as I came in, Edgar grabbed paper and started doing, that.” He gestured to them. After a few moments, Ruby leaned back, a bit flustered. 

“Edgar...I don’t think I did it right…” Edgar picked up the paper and studied it before running to Wally and shoved the paper in his face after crawling up the man. Wally took the paper and bit back a gasp; albeit drawn by a nervous toddler, it looked like Shawn’s face. Wally looked at Ruby with a smile. 

“Ruby...you did a good job here...drawing Shawn…” Ruby’s eyes lit up. 

“Thank you Uncle Wally! Edgar kept telling me how to do it...he sounds kinda silly when he talks super fast.” Joshua raised an eyebrow. 

“What do you mean Ruby?” 

“Well, you’ve got to be really close to understand him, he sort of sounds like Uncle Anges, you know when he’s at the desk and he’s had a lot of Aunt Nancy’s coffee?” Joshua nodded slowly as Grant looked at him. 

“Anges….one of our coworkers….he’s Irish…” Wally’s eyes teared up as Edgar curled up in his arms; he had to go take Edgar to Henry now. 

“J-Just like Shawn…”  
.

* * *

 

.

“Oh Sweet Mother of Mary Joseph…” Shawn mumbled as he rubbed his head as Ruby poked his cheek. 

“How did you go from small to big?” She looked up at Henry, who chuckled nervously. 

“Well, it’s a bit hard to explain…” Henry admitted. 

“That fuckin’ bastard Drew decided to play Dr. Frankenstein…” Shawn grumbled as Henry nudged him, reminding the man that there was a small child. Wally chuckled. 

“Well, we’re not going to worry about that,” Wally said, holding Shawn’s hand and helping him up. “We’re going to have to let Roy know that’s he’s going to need to get an extra plate.” Shawn looked at Wally skeptically. 

“Yer jokin’ right? Roy’s never out of his and Miss Bell’s house.” Ruby huffed her cheeks and placed her hands on her hips. 

“Hey! Uncle Roy is never never not of his house! He spends a lot of time with me and my Daddy, or helping Do-tore Row-bin’s doggies! Or with Mr. Murray that’s not the doggy!” Ruby scolded him and the adults, with the exception of Shawn, fought to not laugh. Shawn just looked at the girl with a bemused look. 

“If you say so.”  
.

* * *

.

When Shawn met Bendy for the first time, he was more confused by the demon, though he made a swarmy comment about an ‘uneven smile’ before going to sit next to Wally, the two close together. Bendy laughed it off, but he knew exactly what the man was referring too. Ruby noticed his downcast and dragged the demon to the kitchen, where Roy was cleaning up lunch, with the help from Dee. 

“Oh hey there Ruby. Bendy,” Cordelia said sweetly. “What are you two up to?” 

“I’m going to make Bendy a sundae!” Ruby proclaimed firmly. “The bestest sundae anyone’s ever seen!!” 

“W-What? Really?” Bendy asked and Ruby turned to him. 

“Yes! You’re really upset and I don’t want to my friends to be upset!” She said, obviously getting upset, wiping at her eyes. “E-Everybody’s been so up-upset and now with W-Uncle Wally and that M-Miss D-Drew-And then that man being mean to B-Bendy-” Ruby started wailing, bursting into tears. Cordelia rushed over to the girl as Bendy hugged the girl, trying to calm her down. 

“R-Ruby, it’s ok!” Bendy exclaimed as Cordelia held the two, rubbing their backs in an effort to calm both of them down. “It’s r-really ok!” Roy came over and picked up Ruby, cradling her and hushing her gently, humming a lullaby. Cordelia picked up Bendy, doing the same. “I-I’m not upset! I-I’m really not!! I know S-Shawn didn’t mean it! I-I’m not-*hic*-upset!” Cordelia smiled sadly. “I’m not!” 

“I know sweetheart,” Cordelia said softly and in a soothing voice, rubbing Bendy’s back and holding him close. “Ruby’s very concerned, and it’s been a very long day…I don’t think she had her nap yet...” She rubbed the demon’s back, stealing a glance, seeing that Ruby had fallen asleep in Roy’s arms. She smiled softly.

“How about you both take a nap now, alright? It’s been a long day  after all...” Bendy didn’t argue and Cordelia’s heart broke; normally the demon would argue and make a point to not look sleepy, but he was just so drained emotionally and physically that he just nodded and let Cordelia pick him up. She looked at her brother, who was softly running his hand through the girl’s hair. They exchanged looks. 

“I should take her back to our house and let Chris know…” Cordelia  shook her head. 

“No, let’s just take them upstairs, Henry’s got a guest room.” Roy nodded absently and began to walk to the guest room, humming softly. Cordelia smiled softly at how gentle her brother was before following, Bendy falling asleep in her arms. She walked past the others and shot both Wally and Shawn a look; she would be definitely having a talk with the two about their behavior earlier, blow up or not, there needed to be some ground rules and she was not going to tolerate them lashing out at Bendy, regardless of being Joey or not.


	8. Chapter 8

Shawn didn’t remember a lot about Cordelia from his time at the studio. She’d brought him coffee nearly every day, but for the most part they hadn’t interacted too much. He remembered her as a shy, slightly panic prone young woman who seldom got angry with anyone. However, the woman who now stood before him resembled that young woman only in appearance. Cordelia glared up at the two men, hands on her hips. 

“Alright, you two, listen up.” She said, her voice holding more authority than Shawn had ever heard it hold before. “We’ve all got issues because of Joey. We all get that. But Bendy, and I want you to repeat this after me, is not Joey.” 

“But he-” Shawn started, but Cordelia shot him a poisonous look. 

“But nothing.” She snapped. “They might be sharing a body, but Bendy is not Joey. Say it with me. Bendy. Is. Not. Joey.”

“Bendy isn’t Joey.” Wally and Shawn mumbled together, looking rather ashamed of themselves. 

“Alright, good.” She said. “Now when Bendy wakes up, you two are going to apologize to him. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” The men said. 

“And another thing,” she continued. “The next time Esther Drew comes here, you need to apologize to her, Wally.”

“I know.” Wally hunched his shoulders, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I shouldn’ta yelled at her like I did.” 

“Exactly, she’s not involved in all this. She just wants to help.” Her expression softened a bit, and she folded her arms again. “We’re never going to get back what he took from us, but he can’t do anything now. He’s stuck in Bendy and he’s not getting out until he repents. We have to accept that and move on. Holding onto our anger is only going to make us miserable.” Then she turned and walked away. Shawn stared after her, rather dumbfounded.

“When did she become so damn mature?” He whispered. 

“I dunno.” Wally admitted, sighing. “Geez, everything’s so different now.” The world had moved on without them. No one they’d known before was the same person they’d been back when the studio had been running. And now there was the revelation that Joey had a family he’d never told them about. 

“At least I’m not a damn spider anymore.” Shawn said. “That was a fucking nightmare.”

“Yeah, it was.” Wally nodded vaguely. His attention was at the top of the stairs, where Roy was standing. The elder Bell sibling just stood there, staring down at the two men. 

“That’s Miss Bell’s brother, isn’t it?” Shawn whispered. Wally nodded and smiled nervously, waving weakly. Roy just narrowed his eyes, disappearing back into the room Ruby was in. Wally groaned quietly. 

“Christ, he’s fucking terrifying,” Shawn said. 

“Yeah...We’re lucky he wasn’t the one giving us a talking to.” Wally grimaced. “He probably would’ve killed us.” Shawn nodded. He really did feel like an asshole. He’d made a little girl cry. He’d always hoped to have little girls of his own someday. Pity his last marriage had ended before they could even try. 

“We’re right bastards, aren’t we?” Shawn slunk into the living room and sunk onto the couch.

“I’d say so.” Thomas sat on the floor with Grant in front of him. Between them was a chess board. Thomas didn’t play chess too terribly often so Grant was trying to teach him.

“Thanks, we totally needed to hear that,” Wally said, sitting down next to Shawn. 

“You did.” Grant glanced at the two on the couch. “You made my niece cry.” 

“Look, I’m sorry. I really am.” Shawn ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t mean to make her upset. I just-”

“You’re angry. We all are.” Thomas interrupted him. “But being bitter isn’t going to do jack shit. All it’ll do is make you miserable.” Shawn sunk down in defeat. Grant and Thomas were pretty much his best friends. It did hurt to hear them say such things. 

“He just got turned back, it’s all pretty fresh.” Wally said. They were all quiet for a few minutes. 

“Sorry,” Thomas said. 

“We just don’t want you letting anger consume you.” Grant looked over at Shawn, a deep fatigue settling on his features. 

“The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.” Shawn mumbled. “But...Thanks for looking out for me.”

“After all the shit we’ve been through, we’ve all gotta stick together.” Wally slapped Shawn’s back. “We’re family, y’know? Or, the closest thing to it.”

“At this point, pretty much everyone we’ve interacted with over the past few months is family.” Grant couldn’t help but laugh. 

“There’s nothing wrong with having a big family.” Thomas nodded. 

“Yeah!” Shawn grinned. “My family’s huge! I wish they weren’t all back in Ireland, though.” With the mood successfully lightened, they continued to laugh and talk and play games for the rest of the afternoon. It felt so good to all be back together again.


	9. Chapter 9

When Bendy had woken up from his nap, both Wally and Shawn apologized to the demon, who thankfully accepted the apology and hugged the two men. Ruby, however, stuck close to Roy and Cordelia, and even Grant or Thomas after her nap, giving the other two wary looks, despite the apology. This bothered Shawn, obviously, as he tried to regain the girl’s trust.

“Maybe a cookie?” Bendy offered and Shawn shook his head.

“Don’t bake sweets.” He said and Bendy rubbed his chin, trying to help. Bendy looked at the other men, Grant reading a book to Ruby, while Thomas and Wally were ‘helping’ as best they could.

“You can at least try.” Shawn glared at Wally.

“I’m trying to gain her trust, not give her food poisoning.”

“Oh! Maybe you can make her something?” Bendy piped up. “I mean you were head of the Toy Department, right?” Shawn noticed that Ruby perked up at the word, though trying to keep like she was focusing on Grant’s story, though the adults knew better. Shawn rubbed his stubble as he mused on it, getting the mischievous grin that the former studio members recognized when Joey gave Shawn the full reign in the creation process for a new toy.

“Cordelia, do you have any fabric or a sewin’ kit nearby?”

.

* * *

 

.

“What’s that Uncle Thomas?” Thomas chuckled as the little girl poked her head over his shoulder as he sat on the ground, dealing with some old electronics.

“Just call me, Thomas, Ruby,” He said. “And I’m just working on this old radio.” Ruby sat next to him, picking up a few of the pieces.

“What’s this do?”

“Well, it helps keep the signal to the radio,” He explained as Bendy ran past, carrying a pile of ribbons. Ruby turned to see him running and looked at Thomas, who shrugged. “Must be working on an outfit, or something, it’s hard to understand the little guy. Now, can I see that? I’ve got to reattach it.” Ruby’s attention was brought back to the radio as Thomas explained how to put the radio back together, providing the distraction Shawn and Bendy needed to continue working on their thing. Roy let out a mildly irritated groan and Cordelia patted his shoulder as they watched from the stairs.

“They’re trying their best.” She said.

“I know, but you should’ve let me talk to them.” Cordelia shot him a look. “They would’ve been able to walk afterwards….probably.”

“Uh huh.”

“And I still think Chris should talk to them as well.”

“Shawn just turned back to normal, Roy, let’s at least give them another chance before using the ‘parent warth’ on them.” Roy just scoffed, a light blush on his cheeks. “And besides, you two need to wait till she’s old enough to date.” Roy’s face went bright red as Cordelia snickered.

“Dee!” After a while, Shawn came back into the living room, followed by Bendy and Wally.

“Ruby?” Ruby looked up at Shawn as he crouched to her level. “Look, I am very sorry for my actions earlier, I was very angry and upset what happened to me while I was in the studio and I immediately lashed out at the closest thing that reminded me of the bas-er-Drew, Joey Drew, which was Bendy…” Ruby nodded slowly as Shawn caught himself. “It wasn’t right, and I should’ve been an adult and vented my anger differently...like, yelling at any of the posters, or somethin’, maybe at a bug or two or something,” Ruby giggled a bit as Shawn made a face. “I hope you can forgive me properly Miss Ruby…” Ruby was quiet before nodding.

“O-Ok...b-but don’t yell at Bendy or anybody again, ok!?” Shawn nodded firmly and Ruby nodded firmly before noticing something in his hands. “What’s in your hands?” Shawn smiled and handed the small toy to Ruby.

“Well, I was thinking that since I’m back from being Edgar…” He said softly as Ruby looked over with wide eyes the handmade Edgar toy, with a bright ribbon around its neck. “You still need your spider sidekick with you and Bendy...” Ruby looked up at Shawn with tears in her eyes before she tackled him in a hug. The adults smiled as Shawn hugged her back, trying to hold back tears.

“ThankyouThankyou! Thank you!!”

.

* * *

 

.

“Mom?” Esther looked up from her book as she saw her daughter and son looking at her.

“Yes?”

“Are you alright?” Her daughter asked and Esther smiled slightly.

“I’m fine, it was just...a busy day.” She said, deciding to not yet talk to her family about her brother just yet.

“Are you sure?” Her youngest son, Isaac asked, giving his mother a look. “You’ve been really tense since you’ve picked us up at soccer. It’s not because the coach wants you to do snack night next game, right?” Esther chuckled and set her book down.

“No, no, it’s not that.” She promised.

“Is it because of your new case?” Her daughter, Rachel, asked curiously. “I-I mean, I know you can’t give super details about your client, but still….”

“You’re not having to help a gangster, are ya?” Rachel swatted her brother. “Ow! Hey! It’s possible!” Esther laughed and ruffled her children’s hairs.

“It’s perfectly fine you two. It’s nothing to worry about, alright?” She got a ‘yes mom’ in response before she stood up. “Let’s see what dad is up to for dinner.” She headed to the kitchen, while the children exchanged looks.

“Mom’s hiding something…” Isaac said firmly. “We need to figure out what she’s hiding…”

“Well, how do you suggest we figure it out?” Rachel inquired and her brother beamed.

“I know, maybe we can ask Mr. Foster! You know, the janitor at school? He’s like all over the place and knows nearly everybody, he’s bound to know what’s up with mom.” Rachel didn’t look totally convince but she nodded slowly.

“I guess we can ask him before soccer practice tomorrow…But come on, let’s go help with dinner...”


	10. Chapter 10

When Isaac and Rachel found Joshua the next day, he was with Cordelia. They were talking in a hushed tone, which was rather suspicious. 

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Isaac whispered, nudging Rachel in the ribs. 

“Ow! Don’t do that!” She hissed, elbowing him back. Joshua and Cordelia abruptly looked up. 

“Hello Isaac, Rachel.” Cordelia smiled and inclined her head respectfully. “How are you two, today?”

“Oh, are these the famous Klein kids?” Joshua asked. 

“We’re famous?” Isaac raised an eyebrow. 

“Well, Dee talks about you a lot.” Joshua shrugged slightly. “Apparently you two made quite an impression on her while you were her students.” Isaac flushed and started scuffing his boot on the carpet of the hallway. Rachel puffed up with pride. She was used to being told she was smart and clever and she liked it. 

“You’re very creative and bright children.” Cordelia smiled warmly. 

“Yeah, we get it.” Isaac tried to hide his face. Too much praise made him feel self-conscious. He wanted the attention to be off of him for a little bit. 

“Anyway,” Rachel stepped in. “We wanted to ask you a few questions, Mr Foster.” She was every bit her mother’s daughter, mature and professional and trying with every fibre of her being to be an adult. 

“Sure. What do you want to know?” Joshua asked. 

“Something’s going on with our mom.” Rachel continued. “She came back from a meeting yesterday acting really weird and we thought you might know something.”

“Well, I’ll see what I can do.” Joshua leaned on his mop. “Who’s your mom?”

“Esther Drew.”

Both Cordelia and Joshua paled, glancing at one another. 

“Wait,  _ you  _ know something, Miss Bell?” Isaac frowned. “But you’re just a teacher.” There had been rumours about Cordelia’s past that made the rounds around the school every so often. Rumours about what she’d done before she’d been a teacher. The most prevailing rumour was that she’d been a part of a cult before barely escaping with her life. 

“I think we need to have a talk,” Joshua said, drawing Cordelia closer to him in a rather protective manner. 

They took the Klein siblings into an empty classroom and closed the door, making sure no one else would bother them. Isaac and Rachel were both rather suspicious, as well as being scared. Both Cordelia and Joshua looked far grimmer than either sibling had ever seen them before. Once they were sure they wouldn’t be disturbed, the couple began talking. 

“How much do you know about Joey Drew?” Joshua asked. 

“He was the head of a cartoon studio back in the day, right?” Isaac said. 

“Bendy the Dancing Demon is a staple of cartoons.” Rachel nodded. “Everyone’s heard of Joey Drew.” 

“As it turns out, he’s your uncle.” Cordelia smiled nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. Isaac and Rachel stared at both of them for a few moments. 

“Wait, you’re serious?” Rachel gave the couple a disbelieving look. “Come on, we’d know if we were related to Joey Drew.”

“Apparently, Joey did everything he could to distance himself from the rest of his family,” Joshua explained. 

“Then how do you know about the connection?” Rachel folded her arms. 

“Esther tracked Henry down to try and give all of us from the studio reparations,” Cordelia said. Isaac and Rachel were rather confused. Studio? Reparations? What on Earth was their teacher talking about?

“So...You worked for Joey Drew,” Esther concluded. 

“Does that mean Mr Foster-”

“Sammy would’ve thrown a fit if Joey hired me.” Joshua snorted. 

“But, yes, I worked for Joey Drew.” Cordelia nodded. “I worked in the music department. I was just lucky to get out before things got too bad.” 

“You said reparations.” Rachel said. “Reparations for what? What exactly is our mom trying to pay you all off for?” Cordelia began wringing her hands, going even paler. 

“Look, a lot of things happened at the studio,” Joshua said. This only succeeded in making Rachel even more curious. 

“I heard rumours that Joey Drew started a cult.” She said, taking a step forward. “Did he start a cult to Bendy? Did he perform black magic?”

“If you want to know what happened, you should come to Henry’s house,” Cordelia whispered, taking a deep shaking breath and brushing her hair back. “I wouldn’t feel right talking about the experiences of others.”

“Well, we need to get to soccer practice,” Isaac glanced at the door. “But...Maybe we could come over after that?”

“That sounds like a good idea.” Joshua agreed. “We’ll be waiting.” Cordelia went to the door and opened it, ushering the children out. 

“I guess the secret’s going to be out pretty soon.” Joshua sighed, putting an arm around Cordelia’s shoulder.

“I just hope they don’t react badly to this.” Cordelia pursed her lips. 


	11. Chapter 11

....

Cordelia probably should’ve defined what “reacting badly” was, considering who her former coworkers were.

Sammy took the news by calling Joshua a variety of names, blaming him for everything. Joshua, however, was unimpressed, needlessly to say.

“Call me something I haven’t heard, Lawrence,” Joshua said. Sammy went red and stormed upstairs. Cordelia whimpered as Norman rubbed her back gently.

“They’d find out eventually.” He said. “Given they’re related to Drew, they’d poke their nose into trouble soon enough…”

“They were in my class...how...how didn’t I recognize them as Joey’s niece and nephew?” She whispered, clearly shaken up about what she had ‘missed’.

“Well, we didn’t know Joey had a family.” Susie offered softly, rubbing the woman's back. “It’s not like we knew he had family.”

“Yeah,” Allison added. “I always thought he was an only child….or an alien.” Susie gave Allison a look. “What? He clearly wasn’t normal. No normal man thinks calling a woman a different woman’s name as a pet name is a good idea!” Susie went pink and turned away, grumbling, as Norman rolled his eyes as Cordelia blinked slowly, looking between Susie and Allison, both confused a bit biturbed.

“Alright, let’s focus on the now.” Thomas said simply before looking at Bendy, who was quiet and curled up next to Henry, who remained quiet. “Anything from Drew?” Bendy shook his head softly.

“He’s really quiet….” Bendy whispered and Thomas sighed, as Henry patted Bendy’s back. “What are we going to do?”

“Tell them the truth.” Joshua said, getting everyone’s attention. “No use trying to cover it up. I mean keep it appropriate for their age-I’m not wanting to scar children here-but tell them that things went down.” Joshua shrugged. “I mean Ruby wasn’t lying about what she told you guys what she knew about the studio; the studio’s got a reputation...And of course there’s the fact Mr. Cohen’s going to bulldoze the place, I can only imagine that’ll there be some ‘fun’ stuff found…” Henry’s face fell as the others looked at each other, regarding that news; the place they had been trapped for so long in, would be gone forever in less than a month.

“I’m not sharing a room with the remaining searchers while Murray works on helpin’ them.” Wally said quickly. “A certain  _ somebody _ already steals my blankets in the night already.” Shawn just stuck his tongue out playfully and Wally went red and coughed nervously. 

“I didn’t need to hear that.” Henry groaned before the doorbell rang. He went to the door and opened it, revealing the two Klein siblings. Henry smiled. “You must be the two Joshua and Cordelia said would come...come on in.” He led them to the living room. “You already know Joshua and Cordelia, this is-”

“You fucking cow handed cabbage headed poltroon ninnyhammer!” Sammy proclaimed as he stormed back down. “That’s what you fucking are Foster!!” Joshua turned to hide his laughter, hunching over as Cordelia looked at Sammy in disbelief as the siblings stared at Sammy.

“What’s a ninnyhammer?” Isaac whispered to his sister, who shrugged before seeing Bendy, who was trying to avoid being seen. “Whoa! That’s Bendy!”

“Um...y-yeah…” Bendy managed out softly, worried about the fact they were there and the fact that all through this Joey’s voice was dead silent, as if the man was trying to hide from this reality. “T-That’s me…Hi...”

“That’s cool!” Isaac exclaimed. “Is Boris or Alice here too?!” Rachel elbowed her brother. “Ow! What was that for Rachel!?”

“We’re not here to see his robots of the cartoons, Isaac, we’re here to figure out what happened!” Rachel grumbled. “Miss Bell said that Joey Drew is our uncle and that our mom came to pay them off for something he did..” Bendy hunched over, beginning to uncharacteristically grumble as Rachel turned to Henry. “What is our mom trying to do with you guys? What is she trying to fix?”

“Treating me like a damn child is what’s she’s doing…” The kids raised their eyebrows as the adults recognized Joey’s voice emitting from the demon instead. “Thinkin’ I’m some child that can’t do anything by myself…” Henry let out a sigh as Joshua wheezed, leaning against the wall, struggling to catch his breath. Thomas chuckled as well.

“Well, considering the circumstances, you’re as good as one...though considerin’ Little Rubes…you’re not even at child-level with maturity...” He trailed off with a smirk as Joey glared daggers at the mechanic. The siblings exchanged confused looks as Norman rolled his eyes before turning the two.

“Look, kids,” Norman said slowly, grabbing their attentions. “Drew is a prime example of ‘Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions’...He may have meant well when he started the studio, but many things that went down in the studio are things that would be better if we let be buried when the building goes down.” Rachel frowned with the answers she was given as her brother walked over to Bendy, who was still glaring at Thomas and touched the demon’s horns curiously. The action caused the demon to yelp and jump, startling Isaac.

“Hey!! What was that for!?” Joey exclaimed, his voice warping with Bendy’s for a brief second. 

“I-I-” The front door slammed opened and Esther walked in, followed by a very perplexed Murray. “Mom?!”

“Um...ma’am, I don’t understand why you’re so mad that you pushed me out of the way to the door…” Murray said. “Or why you’re storming Henry’s house in the first place…” Murray looked at Henry, as if the man would be able to help, as Esther stormed over to her children. “Um, what am I missing here?” Henry sighed deeply as he rubbed the bridge of his nose; this day just kept getting better and better, didn’t it?

“Murray, meet Esther, Isaac, and Rachel; Joey’s sister, nephew, and his niece.” Murray blinked slowly before groaning, throwing his hands up in the air.

“Of course there’s more of him, why am I not surprised?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -All of Sammy's insults are actual insults (aside from the 'fucking') from the 1930s  
> -And yes, I am throwing shade at how Susie defines 'Romantic' XD


	12. Chapter 12

“What did he do?” Rachel demanded, taking a step forward. 

“Rachel, you don’t want to hear this.” Esther reached out to drag her daughter back. 

“No! I want to hear it!” Rachel shrugged her mother’s hand off. “I want to know who Joey Drew really is!” Isaac shrunk back a bit. He didn’t like this. At first he’d been excited that he might be related to Joey Drew. But as soon as they’d gotten there, his enthusiasm had faded. No one there looked happy and Joey had been turned into a cartoon demon.

“You might not like what you hear,” Murray said, shoving his hands into his pockets. 

“I’m with Hill on this.” Norman agreed. “This stuff isn’t for kids.”

“Cut the cryptic bullcrap!” Rachel stamped her foot. “Tell us exactly what our uncle did!” Everyone looked at one another. A heavy silence fell over the room as everyone flashed back to the studio and everything that had happened to them there. 

“Okay, first of all, why is Joey Bendy?” Isaac asked. “There’s gotta be a story behind that.”

“It’s his punishment,” Murray explained. “For what he did to all of us.”

“But what he did he do?!” Rachel stamped her foot again. 

“You want to know what he did?” Thomas’ voice got very quiet as he towered above the two children. 

“Thomas, you’re going to scare the kids.” Cordelia tugged on his sleeve.

“Well, they asked,” Sammy said. “And they deserve to know.”

“SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT’S GOING ON!” Rachel screamed. 

“Okay, fine, you want to know?” Joey folded his arms. “I sacrificed my employees and turned them into twisted versions of cartoons because I wanted to make my cartoons live. I left them with lasting trauma that is never going to go away and this is my punishment. My own magic turned back upon me.”

“I, um, I did that.” Murray raised his hand, smiling nervously. “Turns out I’m a lot more powerful than I thought I was.”

“How...How did you do that?” Isaac asked. “How did you people manage to do any of this?”

“Black magic.” 

“That answers absolutely none of my questions.” 

“I think that’s the best answer you’re going to get out of him.” Esther put her hands on her children’s shoulders. “Jojo can talk circles around the best of people.”

“So...Joey tried to sacrifice his employees to Satan?” Rachel folded her arms. 

“And succeeded in a lot of cases.” Norman said. “I still have the scars to prove it. He strapped a projector to my head, wires on my skin, a reel in my shoulder.”  

“We’ve all got scars.” Cordelia nodded, leaning on her good ankle. 

“Most of ours are just mental.” Thomas tapped the side of his head, his expression solemn. “Wally’s definitely got some issues.”

“We’re related to a monster.” Rachel whispered, tugging on her braids. “We’re related to a monster!”

“He’s not a monster!” Esther yelled before she could stop herself. “He’s...He’s not a monster. He’s my brother.” 

“He’s our uncle,” Isaac said.

“He’s my best friend.” Throughout all of this, Henry had been silent. He preferred to let the other employees speak for themselves on the matter. Not to mention, he didn’t particularly want to think about what had happened to everyone. He felt partially responsible for not being there for them.

“He’s trying to make amends,” Murray said weakly. “He’s going to stay Bendy until he’s learned his lesson.” 

“But what if he doesn’t?” Rachel asked. “What if he just keeps doing it?” 

“Then we’ll be ready.” Joshua stepped in. “He’s not going to hurt anyone ever again. Not while we’re here.” Rachel stood there, her whole body shaking. 

“Let’s go home.” Esther suggested. “We can talk about this at home. Your father is probably worried sick about you.” She ushered her children out, giving the group behind her one last look, promising that she would be back. Then they were all gone. 

“That could have gone better.” Henry sighed. 

“Yeah, no shit,” Sammy said. 

“That girl’s got Esther’s temper.” Joey couldn’t help but smile. He could respect her righteous anger. It was proof she was a good person. 

“Well, that was a lot of excitement,” Cordelia said. “I think you better go take your nap now, Bendy. You know how cranky you get without it.”

“I am a grown man!” Joey put his hands on his hips. “I don’t need naps!”

“Well, you’re in the body of a little demon who does.” Cordelia scooped him up. “Now come on. Let’s get you to bed.” Joey grumbled but didn’t fight her as she took him upstairs. He was getting sleepy anyways. 


	13. Chapter 13

...

Rachel fumed as she went straight to her room once they got home. She didn’t want to talk to her mother, who she knew would treat her like she was her brother’s age, if not younger, and just walk circles around the problem. Her uncle, who she never knew in the first place, was a monster, who sacrificed people willingly and her mother and brother thought it was fine! She grumbled and stormed over to her computer and after a few moments of staring at the blank screen, turned on the computer and began to search everything and anything about Joey Drew and his studio. She read articles talking about the controversy about the demon being the main star, and the rumors of demonic activity. She frowned as most everything was just opinions and rumors, no actual evidence of anything. Even the article talking about Drew Studios being one of the few studios to refuse to create war propaganda for the United States glanced over Drew Studios. She wiped her face as there was a knock on the door.

“Rachel?” It was her mother. “Can we talk?” Rachel was quiet as she tried to figure out how to get out of the conversation. “Mr. Foster is here as well…” Rachel looked at the door; why would Mr. Foster bother coming here?

“I suppose…” She called back and after a moment her mother and Joshua entered the room.

“I realized that maybe having Thomas and Joey explaining everything might end up being a bit on the whole, biased side,” Joshua joked as he sat down on Rachel’s bed, her mother sitting on a chair next to her, frowning as she saw the open search pages on her computer. “And I think I can at least help explain some of what they said and give some context for you.”

“What about Isaac?” Rachel asked.

“He is talking with you father.” Esther said simply. “Mr. Foster was adamant about explaining it to you first…”

“I mean you are really interested in about it,” He admitted. “And granted, for most of the big stuff, I was in Korea, but I know the gist of what happened...at least I’ve pieced things together even as Dee tries to hide it…” Esther gave Joshua a look as the man sighed before turning to Rachel. “So from the beginning?”

“Yes.” Rachel said.

“So, from what I’ve gathered, things began to go downhill around the time when Henry was drafted and had to leave the studio in the 40s-you know what drafted is, right?”

“The military requires you to serve or you pay a very large fine, unless you move to Canada or go to college.” Joshua smiled, nodding.

“Smart kid. Well, Henry was drafted, and Joey didn’t take it very well….” Joshua rubbed his chin. “Fired him on the spot and basically created the spiral that Joey ended down.”

“He never did like being alone…” Esther whispered to herself, remembering the times that her parents would go on extended trips and Joey basically glued himself to her.

“After the war, Henry didn’t go back, obviously, and Joey brought on a new person, Murray I’m guessing, to build an ‘Ink Machine’...and that’s about the time there was the debacle with Campbell...Apparently she got replaced voicing Alice Angel and instead of sabotaging the other woman like any normal actress would, she would obsess over being as close to Alice as possible, and claiming that Joey would make her perfect and what not. Now of course, at this time, me and Chris were stationed in Korea, but I’m guessing that Norman got caught snooping around whatever the machine was supposed to do and ‘disappeared’-Wynn had wrote us about it-and Cordelia quit working at the studio, after nearly shattering her ankle.”

“Why?!” Joshua was quiet for a moment.

“I’d guess that she was at the wrong place at the wrong time...She made up stories about what happened, especially when I came back home and visited me in the hospital, but I figured that wasn’t the case...But anyways, she left, Susie went to the studio and never came back, and Sammy went missing...A search party of some of the family members were formed and they went to the studio.”

“And didn’t come back…” Rachel said. “That’s what the memorial garden is for, right?” Joshua nodded. “And Officer Franks had died in the hospital, that was in one of the articles I found….Did you see him at all while you were in the hos-?”

“Rachel!” Esther snapped as Joshua paled and let out a shaky breath.

“It’s fine, ma’am…” He said quickly. “And yeah, I saw him a few times...whatever he and the others witnessed was probably as close as being on the front lines as any civilians could be…” He was quiet, almost seeming to lose himself to the thoughts before he snorted. “And then a few years later, Henry decides to go back to the studio and then he somehow saves everybody...I still have no fucking clue why he went back in the first place-maybe guilt or boredom, but the man’s pretty stubborn, so it’s not like anybody would convince him otherwise..”

“And the ‘black magic’ one of them mentioned?” Joshua shrugged.

“Wrong guy to ask, Rachel, I’m still trying to figure out the whole ‘Joey summoned ink tentacles and looked like an old timey cartoon and wasn’t fucking phased by being shot at’.” Both women looked at her and Joshua shook his head. “It’s been a weird few months…”

“Apparently.” 

.

* * *

 

.

Once the conversation was over, Esther walked Joshua out of the house, once she had seen her son fast asleep on his father’s lap.

“Thank you for letting me talk to Rachel and you.” Joshua said as he stepped out of the door. Esther nodded.

“No, thank you for helping clear things up…” She sighed softly. “I just...it…” Joshua stopped her.

“Hey, it’s all weird, I understand that part,” He said. “And while I can’t even begin to understand what you’re feeling, just know if you need to talk to anybody, I can certainly help.” Esther smiled and nodded.

“Thanks…hopefully this will satisfy her curiosity…” Joshua shrugged.

“Who knows, but after I drag everybody to therapy, I’m sure they can answer more questions that come up…” Joshua sighed before chuckling. “So wish me luck with getting a bunch of former animators and a cartoon to a shrink.” Esther snickered. “And Henry too...but he’s going to be tougher than getting Sammy off my back.” Esther chuckled.

“Good Luck Mr. Foster….” Joshua beamed and waved as he left.

“Thanks, I’ll keep ya posted!”

.

* * *

 

.

“Yo, Rachel, you in there?” Rachel looked up from her thoughts and saw her classmate, Drew Walters, in front of her, his lunch already eaten.

“O-Oh, sorry, lost in thoughts.” She lied; admittedly she was more musing on the events of last night, and the answers she got, which only increased her curiosity about the former studio. “What’s up?

“Jason and I were planning on sneaking to  _ the _ place,” He said smugly. “You know, the old Drew studio, and we’re going on Saturday, and we’re going to check it out!” Rachel frowned.

“Are you serious!? Your parents are going to kill you!” Drew sighed dramatically.

“Pfft, they’ll be at work, and my uncle and cousin will be too busy to notice if I’m gone with a few friends for a bit. And besides, you’ve heard the rumors; people are coming back from the studio, so it’s obviously not as bad as our parents have said. Besides, I wanna see the place Miss Bell used to work at. And can you imagine the unreleased Bendy merch hidden there?” He beamed as he leaned back. “So, you wanna join?” Rachel immediately wanted to say no, but she caught herself; obviously there were many things that her mother and the other men had hid from her and her brother, and Drew did have a point regarding the fact that the old rumors weren’t true, especially since she  _ met _ them, and if she wanted the answers herself, well...A smile grew on her face.

“You bet I do.”


End file.
